Beijing: Day One

Hello All:

A quick post to update on the China journey...

We had quite the day yesterday, jam-packed with lots of incredible sights that will take some time to process fully.

We began with a trip out of Beijing and into the mountains, with our super-awesome driver, John Yellowcar.  Arriving in the mountains near the base of the Great Wall, we rode up on cable cars to a drop-off point and went up a ways to see this ancient feat of construction.  I was blown away by the scale and size of the wall itself, and I tried to imagine how many years it took to build this structure, especially since they didn't have modern methods to transport materials up/down the mountain.  It's simply mind-blowing.

When you're up top, the view (for anyone who's been, you can resonate) is phenomenal.  Mountains upon mountains.  The steps are many, and you can become disoriented as you try to walk and look around.  Gotta keep that focus and balance.  You definitely get a workout.  We really enjoyed it all and finally decided to ride back down the mountain on the "toboggans"... you sit on these little seats on a metal half-tube and ride down, either speeding up or slowing down with a lever in front of you.  You can't really go that fast, but it's a fun thing to do for sure.

Anyway, after this we drove (John Yellowcar, rather) to the Summer Palace.  It's overwhelming, really.  Beautiful for certain.  We could've spent more time, but I don't know if our bodies could take it, as we were still tired and sleep deprived.  We walked around and looked at old living quarters of former emperors and empresses.  There is so much to take in.  Lots and lots of people there, too!  A large lake in the middle of it all is full of boats, large and small, taking in the view.  The details on the buildings and walkways are extraordinary, with individual paintings on each panel or above each doorway.  I can't imagine the investment of time it took to both build the buildings and to decorate/paint them.  Too much to comprehend.

OK, I'm attaching some pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

(Sean)